Human Rights Commissions of 21 member nations of the Asia Pacific Forum (APF) will meet here on Wednesday to chart out a five-year strategy to promote and protect human rights. Traditional priorities like vulnerable sections of the population and fundamental rights find place on the agenda along with newer paradigms such as business and human rights.
“This covers not only corporate social responsibility but also issues like displacement, loss of livelihood and cultural rights due to corporate interests,” NHRC spokesman Jaimini Srivastava told The Hindu .
Sharing expertiseAlong with the national bodies, 23 members of the Asian NGOs Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) will also participate in the dialogue to share their expertise. “They will critically evaluate the working of the national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and suggest ways to improve,” NHRC Joint Secretary J.S. Kochher said.
Common strategyThe NGOs, which include Madurai’s People’s Watch will collaborate with the APF on creating the common strategy for 2015–2020. “This includes five objectives of capacity building of NHRIs through training and dialogue, advising member states and civil society, exchanging information and experiences and creating professional human rights networks,” NHRC Secretary General Rajesh Kishore said. The NHRC receives around one lakh complaints in a year.
Jordan, Mongolia and India would also make presentations on protecting the rights of women and girls on September 5.
